Telling half the
truth is NOT the truth; rather a big LIE, & that's how Satan keeps
deceiving us by showing us only one part from the picture (Sufferings) without
telling us the other part (Joy).
We tend to look to other people's tribulations & imagine
ourselves in their place, by doing this we make 2 of the most dangerous
mistakes: one is: we falsely judge on the magnitude of the pain & how life
is unfair from our perspective; forgetting that each person's pain is his/her, & only that person can handle it, secondly; we also tend to see only half
of the picture by focusing on that pain; not knowing that there're hidden
fruits growing slowly in those people's lives, it only needs time to bloom.
(1) Joy in eating the fruits of our pain
(Fruits of suffering)
1- Find the real
meaning of my life
At normal days we tend to get occupied with our numerous commitments,
achievements, relationships & all other life aspects, but in times of pain
we start to question the core of life & our existence, helping us to get
back on the right track & find our personal purpose.
2- Produces character
Struggles & hard
times produce what the normal days cannot provide: character
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces
character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame..”
(Romans 5:3-5)
3- Know the truth about ourselves & God
We tend to think that we're strong & so powerful that we can make
everything go as we want it to go, but in our pain we meet the ugly facts about
ourselves; being so weak, fallible, controllable, this should lead us to meet
the other beautiful facts about God; being mighty in power, Forgiving & in
control..etc.
4- Sharpen current talents & spur new ones
David the psalmist wrote his most profound psalms in the midst of sufferings
running from Saul & his persecutors who wanted to kill him, Also Beethoven,
Van Gogh, Victor Frankl, Oprah Winfrey, Henry Nouwen, Lillian Trasher, … Big
list of Musicians, artists, painters, authors, writers & celebrities faced
sever hardships at different stages in their lives, starting from traumas,
losses, Mental illness, feelings of loneliness and despair, we can even say
that if it were not for these hardships; we would not have heard about them nor
their finest contribution to the world as God has put in us the ability to turn
suffering into something creative, inspiring & meaningful.
“What does not kill you, makes you stronger” /
German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche
5- Remedy for our fatal
disease
Pride is our fatal disease that makes us lose our relationships with each other
& with God, Pain however can make us feel humble desiring take time for
solitude, realizing the everything is fugacious, despising the vanity of this
world.
"The purpose of this
life is not in the absence of pain & suffering, but that pain brings
fruits" ~ Paul Torniee ~
(2) Joy in using the following
facts
Because pain is inevitable; God is faithful to
equip us with various tools to help us endure pain & suffering:
1- Joy in being saved, forgiven &
reconciled with God & with yourself
"13 He has delivered us from the power
of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of
the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins….21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh
through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His
sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith" (Colossians 1)
2- You're not alone facing all this
"Even to
your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made,
and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you" (Isaiah 46: 4)
3- Joy in knowing that God loves you
& wants to prosper you not to harm you
"For I know
the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not
of evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29: 11), (Isaiah 16: 10),
(Romans 8 : 28)
4- Joy In having hope for the future
(Let Go & Let God)
No matter how things
went in your past; God can bring the best out of the worst, while waiting:
" Let go & Let God take the lead": “Do not remember the former things, Nor
consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring
forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness, And
rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV)
5- Joy is the fruit of the Holy
spirit
Ask Him to fill you
with His Holy Spirit: "Now may the
God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound
in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
6- Joy in finding the purpose from
your life"For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2: 10)
7- Joy in knowing that pain is
temporal
" Weeping may
endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30: 5), (Hebrews
12: 2), (Romans 8 : 18 & 28) ,
8- Joy in your deep relationship with
God
You do not need to
understand everything; you only need to know God. In your hardest times; never stop being
amazed by God, Always gaze on Him, Although Habakkuk realized that life is hard
& there's nothing that is causing him happiness; he rejoiced in his
suffering & shouted out of trust:
“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God
of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18).
9- Joy in knowing that there's an unseen world
What we see with our own eyes is not
the full truth, believing helps us to see the full picture
(2 Corinthians
4: 16)
10- Joy in deciding to choose Joy
We cannot control
people or some situations, but what we can control is our inner attitude as
believers in choosing Joy by leaning on all the facts we mentioned above rather
than believing what we see with our own eyes … our decision should be in
looking to the unseen other than what is seen. Apostle Paul despite being
imprisoned & isolated in a roman prison; but he wrote a letter of Joy
(Philippians) as he was able to experience real peace & joy
Serenity Prayer:
God, give us grace to accept with
serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would
have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
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